rick London cartoons

Today is the 20th anniversary of the launch of Londons Times Cartoons and the time has zoomed by most of the time, and felt like walking through thick molasses at other times. It almost seems like a dream, sometimes mostly entertaining and at other times a vivid nightmare. In many ways it seemed like yesterday that I was back on my hometown in Ms, broke, without a job and no government assistance. My only resources were my wits and they were running dry.

I had been helping my mom in her final days of cancer and selling television ads for a small television station whose employees reminded me of the characters in the sitcom WKRP Cincinnati. I’m not sure which one I was but definitely one too.

A friend owned a tin shed on the outskirts oftown; sort of like a small warehouse full of rotting cans of vegetables on makeshift wooden shelves he’d built on the wall in sort of a rural spot between two counties.

A can would explode every once in a while due to its contents fermenting and it being way past its expiration date. My friend had also installed electricity, plumbing (but no bath or shower) and a phone line. I bathed in the cold-water only sink. I washed my stray dog Thor in it as well. Within months Thor found a friendly calico kitten meowing from a low branch outside who I also adopted. Somehow we managed.

Friends would come by and bring me meals or take me out to eat. Those were exciting, fun, and frightening times. I was but a tin wall from the outside elements. For most that time I had no car. I slept on a concrete floor in a sleeping bag. I bought and way overspent for an IBM Clone PC from a guy near Hot Coffee, Ms who bought old computers and fixed them.

His garage was full of computers, parts, and tools. He was asking $800. We settled on $600. I know now it was worth about $150, but for back then it was a bit of a workhorse and I was so naive about technology I hadn’t a clue that he probably would have taken much less for it.

The tin shed had a fenced-in acre and a half yard that overlooked I-59, the main road to New Orleans or in the other direction about 20 miles from The Free State Of Jones.

It was March 19, 1997, and I was a very late bloomer due to a number of issues and events, but the main one being a lifetime of un-diagnosed Autism and punished for it, mainly by family but also by community. The family press release was very much like Joe Kennedy’s of Rosemary “Severe issues, she needs to be locked away.” As we learned much later, she was probably Autistic with mild depression. She was extremely bright as her brothers.

The big question was, “Could I ever get past those demons? Could I ever get past being unwanted and put away in an attic bedroom with each of my friendships parentally controlled” and my being unwanted? Could I get past the pTSD and low self-esteem it caused? Who was I to think I could be at the helm of a cartoon project (or any project for that matter)?

They say time flies when you’re having a good time. I can remember most of those times not being so fun for me. In fact I was not sure if I would make it. By then my heart was giving out but I didn’t know it.

I also had vanus (a severe form of flat feet) but had been a long-distance runner and even completed two marathons from Lafayette to Crowley, La. in 1978 and 1979. When finally diagnosed at age 60, the doctors said I had been running (and walking) on “a bag of bones”. I was fitted for orthotics which I wear daily. Vanus is inherited at birth. My dad had it, but I was never checked for it until age 60. Lee noticed it first and saw it on a doctor’s site poster when I was getting a brace for tendinitis. The orthotic inserts have allowed me to walk without hurting for the first time, and even do high-mountain hikes with Lee. I’ve learned to love nature and wildlife.

Dial-up Internet was slow. There was no Google, no Twitter or facebook, nor was there any social media. There were forums and Yahoo! Since I was a novice at the Internet, I didn’t know. I bartered my way through the whole thing.

I contacted cartoonists who had paved the way long before me. While I could draw, I couldn’t draw to the level of which I wanted to to project in this project. I wanted it to be a “Dali meets The Far Side”, a cartoon which could be appreciated as art. Sometimes that worked, sometimes not.

I can remember the most generous people with their time were Charles “Sparky” Schulz, Leigh Rubin (Rubes) and also helpful were Dave Coverly “Speed Bump”, Jon McPherson “Close To Home” and several others. It seemed the bigger they were, the most generous with their help.

So as per Sparky’s suggestion, I wrote the concepts and dialogue, and assigned them to my illustrative partner who rendered them. He only did black and white for a long time but within a year I talked him into color. That year a California tee company paid us $10,000 for the rights to 12 color images. We thought we’d arrived.

Though I made a number of barters, I don’t think we made another sale for another 4 or so years so we just kept creating cartoons. I continued to write them and tweak several I’d written years before. I had a shoebox full from early college days. My parents talked me out of doing anything with them so I kept them hidden away and finally used them.

We made a few sales to academic publishers which never paid much but every little bit helped.

I was living out of my suitcase, which was a good thing since every now and again I was evicted. Friend’s couches or extra bedrooms became “my best friend”. I always had to pay something but never much. I never needed a lot of space; just enough to type and talk on the phone. God bless those who gave me a chance.

By the year 2000, we had close to 3000 cartoons (mostly color), but the unpredictable and dangerous lifestyle was taking its toll. I had my first major heart attack in 2001, and another one in 2010 with three surgeries. In between that time I had a vagus nerve stimulator implant installed to assist my vagus nerve to work properly.

In 2008 I met my later-to-be amazing wife Lee Hiller. She was (and is) a constant support. She was with me during the 2010 surgeries which were touch and go. All the while she has been developing her own line of designer gifts LeeHillerDesigns.com and taking incredible nature photos (many on gifts) in our National Park in her blog titled HikeOurPlanet.com. She’s an incredible person and talent.

Londons Times Cartoons had been the Google #1 ranked offbeat cartoon for 3 years. It has now been for the past 12+ years (since Jan 2005). It is usually Bing’s #1 ranked too (though it tends to fluctuate there down to #4 or so). I’m happy with that given that on both engines there’s about a half million competing offbeat cartoons.

We put a counter up on my cartoon site in Jan. 2005 after Google first named it #1. We were eight years old. It shows we’ve now had about 8.9 million visitors worldwide. That boggles my mind still. It is very easy to say “Look what I did all by myself” but that’s not how it has been at all. I have been but a cog in the wheel of amazing illustrators, managers, tekkies, vendors and Lee all of whom took the time to contribute to a project that had but a slim chance. Alone, I would surely have walked away from computers and try to learn something that didn’t require them.

This year I learned I also have type-2 diabetes and she has gone right to work on helping me figure out a lifestyle diet that works. While it continues to be vegan, the portions are different as is some of the food variety. We’ve beefed up the exercise/hiking (or we’ve “soyed it up” as we don’t “beef” anything).

Today we sit with a gorgeous view of Hot Springs National Park from our office. We see just about every type of flora and wildlife imaginable outside our window. Hawks and falcons fly by often. Squirrels greet us at the window along with a variety of birds and insects.

All the while we create our gift ideas using digital design on our computers. While my cartoons are fun to put on items so are my “Famous Historical Quote Designs” which came much later.

We are going hiking later today on our favorite trail known for its deer and woodpeckers (and much more).

Nature has been very good to us and provided healing, not always so available in cities (where we have lived most our lives).

A well-known quote in the Autism world is “The Internet does for Autistics what Braille has done for the blind and sign-language has done for the deaf”. So I accidentally also found my tool for living, by being a part of the cartoon industry. I would probably have never learned the Internet; as the Interest wasn’t there. I developed a bit of interest when I returned to college at age 50 at WGU.EDU. I learned a lot and Lee has taught me a great deal also. I would have never have known it to be “my lifeline” as an Autistic.

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I was trying to sum things up and our good friend, Sally Jane Paulson in Norway did so for us with a Harper Lee quote she happened to post today. I believe it tells the whole story. It’s at the top of this story.

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Rick London is an author, gift designer and founder of Google #1 ranked offbeat cartoons and funny gifts Londons Times. He is active with outdoors and environmental, animal, Autism and Veteran’s causes.

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I can remember what was probably my first, or one of my first record players (turntables), and playing my favorite records all the way back to age 5, though I had it several years before that, and I remember playing it, the details are not as clear.

It was a brown standalone on a metal table about the size of a night table with one big gold and brown speaker mounted in the front.

I continuously played Elvis’ “Return To Sender”, “Honeycomb”, “Purple People Eater” any Alvin And The Chipmunks song and several others. I didn’t often dance around the room or get a hairbrush and sing in the mirror as so many kids did, but watched the records continuously spin (as so many with Asperger’s/Autistics tend to do. I watched in fascination for hours.

I spent a great deal of time listening very closely to the singers and guitarists and wondering just how they “came to be”. Some records I played all day. When I taught myself to play the guitar in my teens, I could play a number of those songs (and later the Beatles, Stones etc.), of course nowhere as well, but I could not read music either. I’d played the records so many times, to keep my mind occupied.

Of course many know I had un-diagnosed autism, lived segregated from my family in an attic; so had plenty of time to listen to music and grew to love it.

Autism is a difficult condition to describe to others not familiar with it as it is a developmental condition. It is not a disease. It is not “a bad thing”, it is simply a different type of wiring with which science and education is just evolving to understand.

I was later blessed to have and play some beautiful guitars made by Martin (D28 and D35) and a Mossman, which was dual-backed and sounded every bit as good as my Martins but it was apparently a small indie firm which went under. I now play the beautiful Crafter my beloved wife Lee Hiller-London gave me as a gift several years back. It’s a long but fun story how she came to choose that gift and I’ll tell it one day if you’ve not heard it.

As I grew into an adult, (as many Asperger’s are prone to do), I found a topic I liked and stuck with it. Asperger’s often don’t care if the topic is a pragmatic shrewd moneymaker or not, and my choice of “American Culture” was most definitely not. I spent nothing less than a fortune buying music, celebrity, rock and roll, and you name it memorabilia.

My favorite was music, including rock and roll, especially from my various eras; mainly the 60s, but also the 70s-the 90s.

From age seven until age twenty-one or so, I guess I lived for, or to be like, the Beatles, The Stones, The Animals, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin and a host of other (mostly British Invasion Groups). Later of course David Bowie and Al Stewart. Ironically, it was the British Invasion that seemed to influence America with the most impact.

Upon hearing interviews with many of them however, it was (mostly) the Mississsippi blues and rock artists such as BB King, Muddy Waters, Jerry Lee Lewis and the usual suspects that made them tremble at the knees. Nashville’s Roy Orbison was also at the to of their list; not to mention Tupelo’s Elvis. Life is funny that way.

The type things I wanted to collect did not exist; that is cartoons or caricatures of the famous musicians and sometimes actors featured and engineered onto gifts and tees.

I first came up with the idea of “Panel Hollywood” and created about 200 of them (cartoons only). I sent each one to the actual celeb, business or rock star and asked for feedback or a review. Only a very few were resistant and/or threatened to sue, but the majority were tickled pink I was “keeping their name alive”.

Some of the most appreciative were the Roy Orbison Family, Mayo Hospital, Bo Derek and several others. It was quite a surprise.

So I got to work on creating fun memorabilia to keep all their fans happy. Roy O.’s widow Barbara, who sadly died several years ago, used our cartoon of his as their annual Christmas Card and it is now featured in the Roy Orbison Archives. Mayo Clinic features two of them on their library wall.

To see some of the gift ideas I designed, please visit my “Celebrity Shop” at CafePress and first click on “Music And Musicians” and then try “Celebrities And Other Famous People”. Throughout the store there are well-known American icons that are enjoyable and make fun memorable gifts. They are also considered collectibles; and since they are affordable, continue to rise in price the moment they are purchased.

At the end of the day (a term I never use), I’d decided I wanted to be a “culture collector” like Andy Warhol; so I’d be sort of like an “Andy Warhol Lite”. I never got even close to that elevation. However I do own some authentic Campbell’s Tomato Soups in the can for guests. Lee and I don’t touch (or illustrate them).

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Rick London is an author, songwriter, designer and cartoonist. He is best known for the launching of Google #1 ranked Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts, Londons Times. He is married to nature/ wildlife photographer Lee Hiller-London. They are active in environmental, animal and Autistic causes. Rick’s entire humor gift shop can be seen at Cafepress.

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By now most know Lee’s and my love for animals. For much of my life, that meant domestic animals such as dogs and cats, and the occasional iguana or hamster, but for the most part dogs and cats and horses.

I had surmised by the time I was ten or so that I may be the biggest animal-lover in the world, thanks to my late friend Dickey Randolph who, though six years older than me, took the time to teach me about dog care. I got my first Irish Setter from him. And though I will never forget Dickey’s kindness and goodwill (we stayed friends until his untimely death several years back), I know now it was dogs and cats I loved.

I mention that as, I’d never had anyone explain anything that important to me in detail, that stuck with me throughout my lifetime, and became one of the most important parts of who I am; and most likely began my quest as being a vegan as I am now too.

Part of that “memorable miracle” with Dickey was that I was a disabled, but not diagnosed child with Autism (and now of course an adult with autism). I was quite hyper, didn’t make good eye-contact, and my attention-span was dismal.

He didn’t care, nor did it bother him in the least when he returned from Viet Nam, a multi-decorated hero, and very good man. His guidance led me to the curiosity of nature and animals, and Lee took me to further explorations into the forest to see it in all its glory and how animals behave. I never get bored with that and it has a very healing nature, very similar to the dog I got from Dickey, “Rusty”.

I didn’t hate cows, pigs, sheep and chickens, but I dined on them. Along with overcooked veggies that was my staple until college, at which time McDonald’s took over as “the family kitchen”. I look back and wonder how I ever lived through that, and in reality, almost didn’t. I was still 35 years away and two major heart attacks from “seeing the cruelty” in what I was doing.

Having owned one of the first health food stores in Ms. with a $10K loan from the now defunct (like my health food store) Bank Of Hattiesburg, with a preacher from Glendale, Ms. who was later bought out by an ex-math professor at USM, I had an early curiosity of health foods, yoga, running etc. It never occurred to me that something as simple as animal protein (including dairy and eggs) was not only holding me back, but eventually killing me, and how I didn’t die on at least 4 occasions has stumped all my surgical specialists. I am a blessed and grateful man.

I went full-fledged into that business. Most of my “education” came from salespersons with high-school degrees and books written by outdated writers. Food science was moving forward as fast as one could turn a page. The animal sciences were not far behind. I was dedicated to trying to eat right, take the right herbs and vitamins, run marathons, and you name it.

I have since learned that cooked vitamins might as well go in the toilet. To my knowledge there is only one firm that makes 100% organic vegan raw vitamins and that is “Garden Of Life” which we buy in powder form from Amazon or Ebay. It is amazing and one can tell the difference immediately from the ones we see advertised on tv often which have had all/or most of the nutrients and more importantly live enzymes cooked out of them, so they are useless.

I learned that herbal tinctures, in most cases are far better than the tablets or capsules as far as potency. I also learned that organic and wildcrafted are every bit as important. In addition I learned that “organic” in China would not pass for edible in the U.S. (for herbs and vitamins). There’s still much more to be learned. Not all of it works. Some of it is nothing less than miraculous. More learning. It’s neverending.

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Enter Walmart, a new “box store” to the town and exit my store, an old overpriced relic. I sadly closed my doors in 1981

So I spent some time educating myself regarding food sciences and animal science.

I was married in June 2010 to my beloved wife Lee Hiller-London (Lee Hiller of Hike Our Planet)who became a vegan one year later. I had already read the health benefits and how it helped the planet but that still wasn’t, for whatever reason enough for me. However I did go mainly vegetarian for a year before my conversion to veganism.

It was impossible to watch Lee’s positive changes and not want that for myself. I didn’t know if it could happen but I was surely willing to try. She’d lost about 90 or so pounds and about 20 years of age. I was astounded and still am. But that was not her goal. It just happened.

She was very patient with me as my evolution kept going with at least some dairy or cheese and finally I said, “I’ve had it”. I thought she’d be surprised but she was not in the least. She said, we’d both cook alternate days and eat as much raw as we could, and that is just what we did. I had no idea I would not only actually like it, but crave it, and the thought of my old “food” never even crosses my mind. I truly don’t think my body could absorb it. Lee kept looking and feeling better and her mood became very kind. It was not an act. I’ve seen lots of acts. This was a natural evolution. I wanted that too. (Still working on it LOL).

The life changes are dramatic. Forget the goodness to the planet, and though I am tickled to death that it happens, there is nothing that would take me back to my old eating lifestyle. I say that because there is no such thing, really, as a vegan diet. Veganism is more of a learning/lifestyle philosophy.

A Robin Williams Tribute Cartoons from 2003 by LTCartoons.com

Well, Lee retained the good looks, common sense and brains, and I got to feel human maybe for the first time.

Because nobody gets it perfect (I was told that would happen by Ed Begley, Jr.) on Twitter….. (It’s a long story)….I’ve decided not to become a militant vegan, and that fits me well. While I would love the planet to all turn vegan, I also know as Ed told me, “It ain’t gonna happen”. I would love to live the rest of my life on the planet not killing any animals, but again, it’s not going to happen. Even in the making of my computer animals are killed. Lee and I kill insects for instance on our hikes, our ride to the grocery, etc. but not on purpose of course.

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So I wish the Gandhi-wannabes good luck, and let me know how that turns out. When curious persons are ready, they usually ask us questions. Lee has come up with the idea to have them start with a Meatless Monday which is now a worldwide movement.

As time goes by and they are still interested, I often direct people to YouTube to watch Sir Paul McCartney’s “Glass Walls”. Any time I’ve growled or gotten snarly, they ran they other way and ate more meat, with guilt, more meat, nevertheless. They didn’t want to be much like me and who was I to blame them. So I changed, and hopefully so did they.

Meantime I’ve put together a collection of my favorite animal cartoon gifts and tees and I have a lot more in the store collection. A percentage of each sale benefits various animal and/or vegan causes.

Also for yet even more entertainment, there’s plenty on my cartoon website.

Happy laughing…and eating….and hopefully shopping!

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Rick London is an author, songwriter, designer and cartoonist. He is best known for launching Londons Times Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts from an abandoned tin warehouse in rural Ms. He is married to his best friend and hiking buddy, his beloved bride Lee Hiller-London who owns the nature photography blog Hike Our Planet. Though of course cetaceans are animals (Dolphins, Orcas etc.) Rick keeps a separate section for his ocean mammal friends (gifts).

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What is it about whales and dolphins? I’m sixty-one and as an aging boomer was brought up like most other aging boomers, to believe cetaceans (whales, dolphins etc.) were happy campers in tanks/pools.

“Can’t you see them smiling, Rick?” Why would a ten year old question the sage advice of ones parents? If I’d known then what I know now, I’d be questioning quite a bit more. But c’est la vie.

Fortunately my parent’s distancing and eventual abandonment of me, eventually led me to the love of domestic animals and later wildlife and nature and now all of the above. Meeting my wife Lee reinforced that love of nature and wildlife and we explore everything together. One couldn’t ask for more. I thank God daily.

I’ve thought about them and created cartoons about them long before they re-evolved into the news. Seaworld’s “pride and joy” Tilikum, a bull orca, is dying. He was their prize catch back in the early 80s. He’s weighed 12.5 thousand pounds. More than half the orcas now at Florida’s Seaworld share his genes. Imagine how much money that saved them in pursuing more. They became a “puppy farm” so to speak, being every bit as much in the orca breeding business as in cruel entertainment.

And though my beloved wife Lee and I live on the ledge of a National Park/Forest, it is very easy to forget when one lives inland, in the mountains as we do, that Orcas and dolphins are every bit as wild as the creatures we have grown to love in our forest.

Cetaceans must live in the wild. In their case it is the ocean. That is for numerous reasons. A few but surely not even close to all are their need to swim for miles (sometimes 30-50 per day). Another is that they communicate via very high pitch shrill sounds. When communicating in a tank/pool, that sound echoes off the concrete walls, driving each of them insane. So when they kill or injure a trainer, it is not because they are vicious animals, it is because they are tortured and in terrible pain. The type attacks do not occur in the wild. In fact, quite the opposite.

Though I’ve done my share of reading, given my Autism, I don’t always retain it. However, my patient beloved wife Lee, has a way of explaining it to where it is not slanted, but simply independently researched (and double independently researched facts).

That is one reason I have taken it on as a personal cause. Without going into detail, I experienced narcissistic torture as a child well into adulthood. Without the help of 29 years of therapy and my wonderful wife Lee, I am not sure I could have gotten past “those dark ages”.

I hereby offer a percentage of all my orca gifts in my RickLondonGifts.com/LTCartoons.com line to benefit cetacean captivity. And I won’t stop in my lifetime until/unless Orca/Dolphin captivity prisons such as Seaworld et al close their doors.

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Rick London is a writer, musician, designer and cartoonist, environmentalist and animal activist. He is best known for launching Londons Times Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts from a metal shed in rural Ms in 1997. He is married to Lee Hiller-London (Lee Hiller) who is a nature photographer and designer and owner of the popular nature/wildlife blog Hike Our Planet. To see Rick’s orca gifts whose sales benefit orca causes visit his Orca Store.

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Long ago, it seems like in a different life now, I didn’t pay a lot of attention to nature. Though I got to enjoy nature, I didn’t understand anything about respecting it and why. That’s a whole other story, and I won’t get into it now as I’m just learning, but it has morphed into a love of wildlife and birds.

Since my amazing wife Lee Hiller-London (Lee Hiller) who is founder of Hike Our Planet and Lee Hiller Designs started taking me on her hikes, I’ve found an amazing new relationships with wild birds. Many of these are birds that fly to South and Central America. Some come back to our forest, stay for awhile and move on. Most of them are very affectionate and talk to us from low branches.

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They show off their snacks (usually caterpillars or insects) etc. and sing long songs for us. Many of them follow us along our hikes singing all the way.

Mockingbirds and I have a special relationship and I’ve been known to sing with them for 30 minutes at a time within feet of each other.

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A lot of the tropical birds know Lee well and pose for her camera. The robins often “escort” us to and from the forest. It’s really magic and quite healing.

Someone who wants to enjoy nature need not live in the mountains or next to a National Park (though it doesn’t hurt). They can live near a park in their town and just sit on the park bench and look around or at a table, or just take a hike around. Some live in a wooded isolated area or next to a large tract of undeveloped land. Nature is everywhere, and if you watch it with patience, you’ll see a type of drama, comedy and every other “movie genre” that actually is not available in the media; no, not even Animal Planet or Wild Kingdom.

Before long one realizes, as Emerson and Thoreau taught us, we are a part of this wonderful thing called nature. It changes just like we do. Watching it change makes our own human changes much easier and we look forward to it. Though there was plenty to love about NYC, Washington DC and L.A. this is a whole new ballgame; and a healthy one. Lee and I have the “been there got the tees” on the others, and this will do just fine, thank you.

My Bird Mentor & Beloved Wife Lee. Click To Enlarge

You’ll may find that the birds are not as foreign to us as we’ve been brought up to believe. In fact we learned today that sparrows have the same DNA as humans. No wonder they like us. At least seems that way.

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For many years that day didn’t mean a lot to me, whether I was in a relationship or not.

That may sound like a “call for pity” yet it is just the opposite. I know now how blessed and lucky I am, not just to have my wife Lee in my life, but both of us understanding with what we deal; autism as well as building our lives together.

Some think I talk about autism too much, and that’s too bad and their issue. Autism is very much who I am, why I do what I do, and how I do it.

For numerous years professionals wondered how I “lived through what I lived through”, and there are times when I did too, yet they never told me what it was in which they were amazed about.

More than one psychiatrist I told I was hidden away in an attic at age five which lasted my entire youth up until age seventeen and then thrown to the wolves. I am sure most of them knew what that meant, but maybe most of them felt it was best to tell me I had been severely abused, simply by the act of “residential segregation” and the very different rule structure set for me as compared to my siblings.

They also felt it best that my siblings were quite abusive as well, for the most part of their own survival. That part I understood and even forgave. One extremely well-versed very well educated therapist told me, “If they’d had a backbone, if they’d had an ounce of good in them, they would have turned off the “hate Rick campaign” and done the right thing, as adults after your parents died, but they were too ambitious to “have their name in lights”. I could easily see them given that I’d had my name in lights several times (and it was highly overrated). I’d never scapegoat a sibling to do so, nor did I ever.

So given the abandonment (and even abuse) combined with the autism, it is beyond comprehensible to most that I survived. I did have the wherewithal to continue seeing professionals in an extreme effort to find out what had happened to me. Remember, I didn’t know I had autism, nor that I’d been severely abused until I was 61. I was programmed not only to fail but to die young.

And that’s probably why I decided I was not going to die young. In spite of two major heart attacks 3 surgeries and stents, I was determined to discover what had happened and who did what.

Then came Lee. She loved me and loves me unconditionally. She helped me in my quest, so that I might not dismiss abuse when it came my way.

Remember, I never even knew I was “at war with my siblings” (I just felt they didn’t care for me) until age 61. At age 60 I decided to write one of them to let them know of my autism diagnosis. Also of my vanus diagnosis; an extremely painful form of flat feet, also congenital. As always, I was dismissed by one sibling by email with a line that read “My spouse’s niece had a bit of autism but is fine now. What will you do for symptoms”. (In other words people live with autism all the time. Get used to it).

Truth be told, most autistic children do not get hidden away in an attic, scapegoated by their entire family, and never diagnosed. The difference is apples and oranges (than simply “being autistic”. I survived a pre-meditated war against me, one I never knew I was in, only to find the real truth, and that the perpetrators of that war were rancid cowards, bigots and haters, and still are. Now they will coddle their autistic niece to show “their goodness”. Educated people expect that and are not impressed…in the least.

I lost it. I was livid. Symptoms? Autism does not have symptoms. Autism is who someone is. It is not something to cure. It is something with which to have compassion because the tools to teach autism are just now coming into fruition.

I told the sibling a thing or two about symptoms (the only true symptoms of such a condition are hate, prejudice and fear) projected by ignorant people, and I made certain this sibling knew what that meant. I never heard from that sibling again and if I’m fortunate I never will. I know it sounds erudite but these siblings do not deserve to be a part of my life.

I am not perfect, in fact far from it. But the torture of another person, especially a child who later becomes an adult, to me falls in the category of serial killers and such. Before you say, “how crude”, so do a majority of the members of the autism groups which have at least 3.2 million diagnosed members not to mention even more than that that are un-diagnosed.

This feeling is real, and the experience/torture is very much of a similar sociopath nature. Those people need help and need it today. They will within a few years, most likely, find themselves way on the fringe, at least that is what is being reported by knowledgeable scholars acting within the mainstream autism communities. I believe it wholeheartedly.

And I don’t regret writing that. I do not want that kind of “person” in my life, ever. And though I know they cannot help that they are that sick, they do have the responsibility to get professional help. After all, I did, and I was not even the one who needed it most. In fact, I am quite at peace with myself most times, knowing that I finally know what really happened to me, and not the “family press release”.

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Yes, I still get the occasional PTSD that I used to get often. But PTSD is not a character flaw or weakness. It is a healthy response to something very bad that someone experienced or saw. I can remember having it since age 5 (the year my first attic isolation tank) aka bedroom was built). Why would a five year old have PTSD? Child abuse is the reason about 99% of the time. I was part of that 99%. I survived it and am very proud of that. Not all do. And that is why I write these blogs. I don’t believe any of my family will change. They have too much invested in “the lie”. But I know others might read it and see hope. I know NPD parents might read it and seek help. If just one reads it and seeks help, it’s a success. Torture is torture and if it prevents just one, it proved to be a good thing.

I merely ask you to imagine a 5 year old child alone, isolated in an attic, for 12 years. The first 4 years crying every night to no response (they couldn’t hear me in such a large home and made sure of that). This causes all sorts of psychological problems, the worst of all chronic insomnia (which is not even allowed in the most brutal wars by the Geneva Convention). Neither is that sort of isolation. Some parents truly need not be parents. They are forgiven (by me). They are also forgotten (by me). I survived that and I am tougher than I thought. They are more cowardly than I ever knew. Sadly, they knew what they were doing.

The rest of my life went downhill from there. Until age 58. That’s when God presented my wife, and there was a definite curve upward. Beautiful things began to happen.

I realized rather rapidly I was the lucky one by not scapegoating anyone. I was the lucky one for “taking the fall”. I was the lucky one for letting them cast aspersions and tell lies etc.

I look at my life and I look at theirs. I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else. God made certain I would not only enjoy but cherish my 61 year old Valentine’s Day. We have wonderful friends, most married who share the same affection for their spouses.

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I now am learning how to navigate life with autism. I realize I read and saw and thought everything differently. I also know that was not my fault. I was not diagnosed purposely for nefarious reasons. Now I am diagnosed for decent reasons and have a beautiful chance to enjoy my life. Lee and I will only associate with good people who support our relationship. If you are one of those who find you are not, do not try to be a trickster. We’ve seen it all, and we fight back. We will defend our love no matter what.

If you and I have been friends in the past, in real life, but you are frightened to express it due to NPDs and their “flying monkeys”, might I suggest those days are over, and they turned out to be wrong. Very wrong.

And if you don’t believe me try contacting one of the major Autism associations. Most of them know me now, know the dynamics happening, and are not happy with it at all. It’s very nice to have that support.

They will assure you that abuse and prejudice against autistics will be a dark part of American History. Please, consider siding on the right side of history. Not the side in which someone might throw you a few nickels or “property one day”, or if you’re really lucky “be a part of their popularity circle”. Just remember how they obtained that popularity. With torture. I will not tell you not to be a part of that. We all have to answer to our God. You know best.

You might look at my life and think it was quite unfair. The real facts is that I was dealt a very bad hand of cards (by humans). When I let God take over, things changed. Suddenly my offbeat cartoon of which I’d worked on for 8 years was the Google #1 ranked offbeat cartoon and a few years later my designer offbeat gifts also became #1 ranked. They have maintained that ranking through hard work all the way up until now (2016). That is 11 years. I am proud, very proud, but I clearly understand now it is from a Hand Above and from the loving Support of my Wife Lee. I couldn’t have dreamed of this.

That may not seem like much, but given there are 100,000+ offbeat cartoons and gifts on the net on any given day (am told), I feel pretty good about that. Had I been treated fairly, that would have never happened. So I do have the culprits to thank, and thank them forever and ever. Nobody has been as good to me (but surely not on purpose), and of course my Angel wife Lee who willfully has been good to me, and has showed me the world in a whole different manner. I will always push to look at it correctly, and not as a “mean ol’ place”. It’s not a bad place at all, and most the people in our circles are very very decent.

Scapegoating toddlers who become children who become adults, with a pre-planned “program” to make them the bad guy and then “buy their friends” is not even considered humane in the very worse cultures and societies.

Sadly, it is done quite often in these United States, and most children/later adults never knew what hit them. My parents never figured I would have the photographic/date/time memory that gave them away the first time they committed such a crime. They were busted. They just didn’t know it. It took me this long to figure out just what the abuse was.

It was so subtle, so professional, so well done in privacy with me; not when other siblings or friends were around, you would have thought it was an Alfred Hitchcock film. But most Hitchcock films offer a bit of grace and negotiation. Mine offered neither. I believe with the help of God and amazing friends, I lived long enough to figure it out, and have enough life in me to help others who find themselves in similar situations.

I am able to vocalize to them they are not alone. I am able to shout to them to hook up immediately with autism legal programs, autism support groups, and the like. They can then safely tell their story and if someone interferes, it can easily become a civil rights matter and that interfering person may just find themselves on the wrong side of history, not where they want to be.

Scapegoating humans and torturing them is horrendous. Doesn’t work nor should it. It’s hate. It’s prejudice and it’s fear. It’s masochistic and brutal. To support it is as cowardly as the act itself. That’s not you I hope, and pray.

Love is truly the answer

The Beatles were right. Money can’t buy that. It can’t even buy “like”.

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Rick London is a writer, songwriter, gift designer and cartoonist. He is best known for his Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts “Londons Times” LTCartoons.com. He is married to popular nature photographer and gift designer Lee Hiller-London who owns nature blog Hike Our Planet and brand store LeeHillerDesigns.com.

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I want this blog to reflect how important it is for a loving married couple to work as a team. I won’t do it justice but I’ll report what I witnessed. I have what could be the smartest, kindest, and talented wife on the planet. And I don’t say that lightly. Here are some reasons why.

We can all work toward this kind of interaction skills that show love, way beyond mouthing the words “I Love You” which we all know how to do. This is real. It can be for everybody if they want it. We’ve spent 7 years working and playing on our relationship and 6 of it has been in marriage. We’ve grown, changed, and are growing up. I like that. Always wanted it. So did Lee.

So much self-discovery has gone into the past 5 years. I learned the importance of veganism, not just learning to mouth the words but taking action and doing the right thing. It was not as difficult as it seemed.

Lee and I had been hiking in Hot Springs National Park, the most beautiful forest I’ve ever seen, abundant with plenty of wildlife, birds, etc. Many have gotten to know our names. Squirrels and rabbits don’t run from us. Mocking birds make a special trip over to land at arm’s length and sing with us. They know who we are. They don’t do so with everyone (as odd as that sounds). We talk to the trees. Not all of them but the ones who like to listen “and talk back”. 🙂

Then I used to go home and make some kind of chicken or fish stir fry staying in complete denial I was eating my friends, literally. Lee had figured it out a year before and was busy putting together new recipes for her new life. She did not know if I would transition or not, but finally I did.

Two things helped facilitate that. One: Watching Paul McCartney’s “Glass Houses” video on YouTube. Paul is a former carnivore who, with Linda McCartney had a sheep ranch. They were busy eating their lamb chops and watching the sheep gaze out of their window. Some of them they named, and each animal would come running to them upon hearing it. It occurred to him they were eating their friends.

Linda came close to becoming a vegan but stayed vegetarian eating some vegan dishes. At the risk of angering some, best tell the truth. Vegetarianism is not a whole lot healthier than meat-eating. Veganism is what clears the body of it’s horrendous toxins over the years from animal proteins.

cow cartoons by ltcartoons ltcartoons.com

Also watching Lee in her vegan regimen and watching her skin clear up; her scowl turn into a smile, her weight dropping off like nothing I’d ever seen. I said to myself, “I want what she has”. She told me how to get it, and she was right. Lee is 58 years old. She does not mind that fact being known. Some women do. Lee wears no makeup. Her face is natural beauty like I never knew existed. She does tai chi, has taught it to me, and together we are learning to take care of our bodies. This is a lot better than the old destructive ways which were handed us from a prior generation. Again, I am very blessed. She is the best, by far.

Also, upon discovery of my autism and lifetime punishment for being born with it, Lee declared 2016 (in our home), the “Year Of Rick”. She said I have helped her (not sure if that is true) but now she was/is going to make sure I get through this. She is (doing so).

I had to go to the hospital yesterday due to an undiagnosed severe kidney infection. My pain level was past a ten. I didn’t take any opiates but I took about 20 more per month of my vagus nerve medicine. This is not enough to kill me, but create a vicious cycle in which it seems it would never end.

They now have my meds straight. I am fine; and am driving to the grocery tomorrow. They thought it was be 2-3 weeks. They thought wrong. Not to worry. It was never enough to kill me, but it was enough to add to the toxins of the untreated kidney (antiobiotics and herbal tinctures are healing that). I will be most likely hiking with Lee again next week.

One funny thing. The hospital, as they do most patients, attempted to manhandle me in and out. Not this time. Lee stood by my side and put her elbow up in front of her when they tried to push her out of the way to get to me to drag me away. She let them know she was/is in charge and nothing is going to happen here without her knowledge or permission. Talk about patient advocacy. It was something out of a very good movie. We both smiled and the hospital had a change of heart taking as much time as I needed, with Lee by my side. She left them with a cold stare (all of them) that clearly stated, “You are treating Rick in a dignified manner or not treating him at all”. (They seemed to get the message. I wanted to applaud her. Everyone and I mean everyone deserves that kind of medical advocacy whether from a wife, significant other or family member. Otherwise, treatment might be less than par (at best). It was good. Very good.

Lee told me anyone can do that, take charge of their medical rather than leaving the whole thing to hospital staff. And they hopped to it. We heard one young nurse outside our door near the x-ray room yell, “Dam she is GOOD, Brilliant”. LOL. 🙂 And she is.

I have learned a lot, a whole lot. I don’t think I would have learned much of any of it with Lee’s assistance. She is magnificent. I am the most blessed man in the world, to hell with the “most interesting”; I’d rather be blessed any day, and I know I am.

I am no guru, but please take care of yourself. Eat right to the best of your knowledge. Find doctors you trust and follow their orders. If you don’t trust your doctors, find others. There’s plenty of good ones out there.

Don’t scapegoat people. Don’t isolate them and make them feel different. Karma often comes knocking one day along that dreary path.

Be good. Be good to yourself and others. Laugh a little. Do something good for someone who cannot (at this time) do anything or much back. Maybe they never will be able to do so. God smiles upon that kind of thing you know.

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Rick London is an author, songwriter, designer and cartoonist. He is best known for his launch of Londons Times Offbeat Cartoons & Funny Gifts from a tin shed in rural Ms in 1997. It has lured nearly 9 million visitors since that time and has been Google’s #1 ranked offbeat cartoon since that time. He is married to the love of his life Lee Hiller London founder of nature gift store LeeHillerDesigns.com and popular nature blog Hike Our Planet.

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As the years go by, we all have stories of our favorite artists; and our occasional brushes with fame. One of my favorites in my life is that of whom I considered one of the greatest recording artists of my lifetime, David Bowie.

I was in Los Angeles taking screenwriting courses and selling magazine advertising. I had written two screenplays and gotten my foot in the door of a few large studios but no luck yet.

I got out early in the day and spent most of it pounding the pavement. I stopped at a little restaurant (cedar wood) but can’t remember the name of it. It was mainly for breakfast and was just north of Beverly Hills and Studio City on Santa Monica Blvd. My guess is it is still there as it was one of those old “local family establishments” when I was there for breakfast that morning in 1994.

It was several months after the Rodney King Riots, and several months before the Northridge Earthquake.

I walked in with a few friends and to my left at a large table full of people was David Bowie. There was no mistaking him. I had run into numerous “stars” while living out there, so that was not a big deal. I can remember though the only other time I started shaking was when I met Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo).

I found myself staring at David Bowie as was everyone else in the restaurant. He suddenly blew out a lot of candles atop a birthday cake in front of him and his table all applauded. I said to myself, “You’re either going to meet my favorite artist now, or probably never. I walked over and wished him happy birthday. The rumors I’d always heard was that he was cold and aloof. Not the case at all. He smiled a big smile and said, “Have a seat. It’s my birthday. Here, have some cake”. I took the slice and found myself not saying a word.

He said, “I’m 51…and we’re celebrating and now you are too. Welcome to our celebration.” He asked my name and I told him “Rick” and he introduced me to his friends.

I finally conjured enough courage to ask him about his 51 years and he started talking (from as far back as he could remember); mostly stories of concerts and being on the road.

I told him that though I love most of his songs if not all, “Ziggy Stardust” probably was my all-time favorite. There was a slight pause. I thought he was angry. Not so. He smiled and said, “Mine too”.

I tried to think of something funny to say and I blurted out, “Bet you’ve been through a lot of ch-ch-ch-ch changes.”

He laughed aloud and asked me to sit down and have breakfast. I did.

For the first few minutes I was quiet for the most part, just to see what kind of group of friends this was. They clearly were not his band members and it had been years since he’d had his “Spiders From Mars” band; and had been working with studio bands when he recorded.

They were just regular guys (and women) who were his friends. No big Hollywood glam, just regular everyday people. That felt comfortable. All were very friendly to me as was David.

I was truly curious and wondered “what drove” David and asked (not as a journalist but as a curious fan. He expressed that he’d wanted to “do something different” since he was a little kid, and the more crystalized vision of what different was manifested when he was about 14 or 15. He was not sure if that drove him, but he constantly wanted to do better and loved anything to do with the arts; in fact acting in films was every bit as fun to him as music.

I got him to talk about his travels and concerts. Well actually I didn’t get him to do anything. I asked and he was generously open and told me a lot of “his oddities” (No pun intended) that had occurred on the road. It had all been exciting but he didn’t truly enjoy it until he cleaned up his personal life. That made sense to me.

About an hour later they all decided it was time to leave. The waitress left us all separate checks. Before I could look down to pick it up, David had grabbed it and by the time I could put my hand out to take it back, he’d already taken it to the register to pay it.

We all convened in the parking lot (which was a big spread of gravel) and stood there a few minutes talking about the weather, music, and such. He patted me on the back and shook my hand and told me how wonderful it was to meet me. Aside from The Beatles, he probably was my favorite original musician I’d remembered for many years.

I went home and told a few friends what had happened. My Los Angeles friends were not very shocked given that running into such fame was fairly common there, and David had been known to be very caring and nurturing. But when I told friends and/or relatives back home nobody believed it.

I wrote that incident down and put it in my “creative box”. My creative box was a large shoebox that had literally thousands of ideas that I would one day put into a film, a cartoon, or whatever it was I was going to do later in my life. I was/am a late bloomer.

When I sat down 5 years later to begin creating Londons Times Cartoons, I did a series called “Panel Hollywood” which included my brushes with fame.

I realized I had looked at David as one who helped “keep us afloat” no matter what. He was not about money or fame or all the trappings he had. He was about helping those struggling to make it.

Hence my cartoon, “David Buoy” came to be. RIP David Bowie. I’ll never forget your music and films; and most importantly the morning we had breakfast on Santa Monica Blvd.

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Rick London is a writer, cartoonist, songwriter and designer. He is best known for his offbeat cartoons and funny gifts, Londons Times Cartoons which have been Google #1 ranked since 2005. London launched the project from a tin shed in 1997. London has designed cartoon David Bowie tees and gifts that make wonderful collectibles.

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When I was about 19, I left home to “greener pastures”….Dallas Texas; and landed at a community college in Richardson, Tx called Richland. I enrolled for no particular reason than to be away from home and see the “big bad dangerous world”. With Autism and Asperger’s, I hadn’t a clue why I was attending anyway.

Though I was taking a full load, and retaining nearly nothing due to my Autism which had never been diagnosed, I also went to Dallas Fashion Merchandising College. Though it was not an accredited school, it was great fun, and for the first time allowed me to express myself creatively. I was told by my parents and others close to me that it was a waste of time; I’d never learn how to design, and I’d do best to throw in the towel there and focus more on my studies (business) at Richland. I tried but something kept me going to both.

I was unable to do lesson plans (at either school) but learned as much as I could from lectures. Fortunately there were some good professors at both and I retained a bit. 35 years went by before I had an opportunity to design. But everything had changed. In those days, one was to graduate and take their portfolio to a well-known designer. I was much too shy for that and my portfolio was an embarrassment.

I was older now, and there was something about electronic designing that appealed to me. I went through three major surgeries while back in college in my late 40s and mid-50s not to mention a major heart attack I’d suffered before becoming a student. I was determined to learn something before I left this planet.

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As time went by, I learned the process of digital designing. I created gifts and clothing bearing my cartoon images, and also learned I could take old public domain images of famous people and their quotes and create designs with them, something I still enjoy doing.

In 2007, I was approached by a POD (Print On Demand) that they’d made a deal with U.S. Keds and wanted me to design some shoes using both my cartoons and public domain famous people and their quotes. At first it was fun. Then like so many Aspies it became an obsession and I felt I had to design at least 3-5 pair a day. It remained fun but grueling. Lee can tell you when I get started on a project my focus is there and remains there until it is finished or stabilized. There is almost no tearing me away from it. But she laughs as she is the same way with hers. As Gary Larson once said, “These little images in a way become our children”. And he’s right. We groom them, we help develop them, we show them how to behave in public and private. They’re just kids.

I married my beloved wife Lee who had had a much more positive experience with academia and also family members growing up who could sew beautiful clothing. When I shared digital design with her, I hardly had to tell her anything. Within 3 months, she had created about 700 pairs of shoes not to mention Tshirts, mousepads, eco-friendly bags, etc. Today she has about 30,000+, one of the most beautiful lines I have ever seen of both her nature and wildlife photography and her amazing artwork, much of it reminding me of Peter Max from the 60s but with her own flair. It’s a lot of fun and we’ve got a lot of it hanging in our place.

I guess I had about 3000 or so pairs of my “ShoesThatAmuse.com” when Keds and the POD had a falling out. I woke up one day and every one of Lee’s and my pairs were gone. No explanation, no apology, just a short note on their blog that said, “We’ll be back with another brand that will knock your socks off (no pun intended). It would be another 6 years before that happened.

In a lot of ways I’m glad it did happen the way it did. Though the brand we use now ZIPz is not as flexible in designing as Keds, the quality far outweighs them, and I like knowing that our lines is going to be something people will be able to enjoy for a long time.

I’ve received emails and mail from all over during that time of people telling me how much fun they’d had meeting people who simply asked about their shoes. Word of mouth was my best advertising.

After the trauma of hours/years of work on designing the Keds shoes, I changed the name of the store to RickLondonDesigns.com which encompassed all my wisdom, spiritual, motivational, political, etc quote gifts and the store does okay.

Now, I have just purchased the domain AmusingShoes.com which is what I’ve decided to name them.

My Autism Signature Series Shoes will be part of my Signature Gift series. 10% of profits will go to non-vaccine/non-cure Autism/Asperger’s causes. As time goes by and we see a real profit, that will be raised. For now it is the most I can do to keep the lights on. Bear with me, please. Thanks.

Time will tell how they will do. Generally, when I enjoy creating something, it sells. If it is a pain in the butt, it is as if the public knows and won’t buy it. There’s no fooling the public. They know if something is a labor of love, or just an item to put up to make money. I’m at a point in my life where I don’t need to waste my time making those type items. If it is not a labor of love, I’m simply not going to create it. Lee feels the same way with her LeeHillerDesigns.com. I don’t blame her in the least.

I hope you will drop by some of our shops and find items that you can’t find anywhere else. We’ve done it that way on purpose. We’ve found ways over the years to keep prices affordable, yet make the items as rare as hen’s teeth. People generally enjoy them. And for those who don’t there is a 30-day 100% refund, no questions asked. Can’t beat that.

Rick London is a writer, cartoonist, songwriter and designer. He is best known for his Offbeat Cartoons and Funny Gifts “Londons Times” which have been Google #1 ranked since 2005. He is married to “his better half” Lee Hiller-London of Lee Hiller Designs who is a popular nature/wildlife photographer and artist as well as hiker and photo poet. The Autism Signature Series Of Gifts is part of his collection.

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Had a beautiful hike early this morning with my favorite hiking buddy, my beloved wife, Lee. It was overcast and we felt certain it might rain so we decided on one of the shorter trail. It was rather cool which made it nice. One problem though. We didn’t realize today must be “National Don’t Wear A Shirt Even If You’re A Bit Pudgy Like Rick Day” so we had a little trouble keeping our trail mix down.

One old shirtless codger did seem to score. We let him pass us and pretended to view birds in the distance (which weren’t there) but he still attempted to get our, well Lee’s attention to no avail.

He found his mate up ahead about a ¼ of a mile and they traveled the rest of the trail together. We immediately smelled the scent of deer musk and didn’t know if it was the happy new couple or a real deer which we see more often than “Shirtless Senior Dating”.

It may sound funny, but it is a bit horrifying. I say not judgmentally as I have mirrors in my home and they scream “Wear a shirt outside Rick…You’re no longer 25). I guess not everyone has such mirrors. But it means someone(s) hooked up, and, all sarcasm aside, that can be a good thing.

FYI, hiking shirtless in the warm or hot summer at any age is socially acceptable as it is not yelling, “Look at me, I’m available”. It’s hot outside and people don’t want to be uncomfortable. But hiking shirtless in weather like this truly compromises the immune system.

Lee and I took a few photos of the beautiful leaves changing and that was fun. We picked up our bottled water and came home.

I promised myself I was going to write on my book, design some gifts, write a blog or two and maybe some cartoons. This time I did all of the above, with my shirt on, and that was a good thing. Oh and I took a nap. When I was younger I never used to take naps.

I think that is one of the wonderful things about getting older. One can take a mid-afternoon nap with nobody asking, “Do you not feel good”? or “Can I get something for you?” They expect it. After all I’m an old codger….with a shirt. And I just hiked. I deserved a nap. And got it.

Now I’m awake, laying on the carpet watching the game munching on kale chips. If someone saw me now, they’d have a difficult time keeping their food down. Glad Lee already ate. 🙂